The strange story of how a man with a brain injury nearly lost his home

A judge has voided a 2011 marriage involving a man who suffered a serious brain injury and the woman he had broken up with prior to the accident.

The ATV accident took place in June 2011 near Gravenhurst, leaving the man with serious brain injuries that took months to rehabilitate and left long-term effects. He was released from Health Sciences North in Sudbury in October of that year under the care of two of his sons, who ensured that he took his medications and looked after him.

Three days after his release, however, he left the home and was picked up on the roadway by the uncle of a former girlfriend, without the knowledge of the man’s sons. The uncle took the man to Barrie, where his former girlfriend was living under a court order because of a drunk driving conviction.

Once there, they were quickly married by an officiant secured by the woman’s family. By the time his sons were able to locate him through credit card receipts, the wedding had already taken place.

At that point, the woman claimed partial ownership of a house the couple had shared before they separated and before the accident. But the court heard the man had gained sole ownership of the house by that time, paying the woman $52,000 for her share in 2010. A total of $27,000 went to her, and the man paid another $25,000 to the woman’s lawyers whom she needed to pay to settle an outstanding bill.